Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to inform Mr X about available business rates relief. This is because there is not enough evidence that Mr X being without rates relief directly resulted from any fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that his business was eligible for business rates relief between 2020 and2023, and the Council failed to tell him. He says this was partly due to a cyberattack suffered by the Council in 2020 and that the Council’s website had no useful information. He wants the Council to pay him the relief he says he was entitled to between 2020-2023.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. I have reviewed archives of the information available on the Council’s website between 2020-2023. I am satisfied the Council’s website did contain information about business rates and Covid-related financial help in this period. Therefore, it is unlikely any investigation by us would conclude that Mr X not seeking rates relief resulted directly from any failure by the Council to make information available.
6. There is a reasonable expectation that Mr X, as someone responsible for a business, would take the initiative in finding out about schemes that could help his business, especially as the business could not operate normally. So, there was a reasonable onus on Mr X to find out about schemes. Information about schemes was also available from government sources and news media.
7. Mr X says the Council was effectively uncontactable due to a cyberattack it suffered in 2020. While this may have been the case for some time, an investigation is unlikely to find that this resulted in Mr X not knowing about and receiving business rates relief between 2020-2023. We received complaints from other businesses during this time about the Council’s administering of business rates relief and grants. In those cases, the Council and businesses had been communicating about the matters. This further demonstrates that investigation is unlikely to find the injustice described by Mr X is directly the result of any fault of the Council’s.

Back to top

Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence that Mr X’s claimed injustice is a direct result of any fault of the Council’s.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman